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| Sonia Delaunay, Prismes Isotiques, 1914 |
Modernism was a unique style of art or
practice that involved the combination of different movements arising from the
20th century which expressed the different forms of art.
“In Western art, movements and “isms” appeared, one after another:
impressionism, postimpressionism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, constructivism,
abstract expressionism, etc.” (Guerilla Girls, Pg 59) which all made up
modernism. The development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth
of cities were some factors that shaped modernism. Art was always viewed
as needing to follow certain rules and standards to gain recognition. Modernism
became the approach that would change the way modern civilization viewed art,
politics, science etc.
It was the
people’s way of expressing their rejected ideas that might have not been good
enough in the expected art world most especially for women. Modernism helped artists express their ideas of society and the way things around them were drastically changing or evolving. It portrayed the modern world in a different light. Modernism allowed
women artists to express their art in a
variety of ways such as through fashion, posters, furniture in the home such as
curtains or lampshades. Sonia Delaunay created beautiful designs on furniture, and clothing and eventually opened a boutique where she sold her work of tapestries, costumes and all her other work that consisted of vivid colors and shapes.
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| Suzanne Valadon, The Blue Room, 1923 |
Women played a
big part in modernism where they were now able to revolutionize themselves as
who they truly were. Women were seen to only be good enough as sexual objects
for the eyes of men in art but modernism allowed these women to stem out of
that stigmatization. Women artists in Europe influenced the many techniques and
development of modernism and the different movements that followed. They were
able to revolutionize how they were dressed, the way they were viewed in
society and the status they had in society. The shift in gender relations
helped the emergence of modernism. Some examples are seen
through Suzanne Valadon's artwork called the Blue Room. Whitney Chadwick states
in Women, Art, and Society that "Rejecting the static
and timeless presentation of the monumental nude that dominates Western
art, she emphasizes context, specific moment, and physical action. Instead of
presenting the female body as a lush surface isolated and controlled by the
male gaze, she emphasizes the awkward gestures of figures apparently in control
of their own movements. (Chadwick, 285). We also see this example in
Suzanne Valadon's Grandmother and Young Girl Stepping into the Bath. This was
important to recognize because women were always being sexualized in art but
finally we can view a painting of a woman who is shown as being comfortable in
her own skin, set in a domesticated area, and being more natural. "The
shift from the imagery of seductive and devouring femininity produced by
Symbolist painters and poes to an ideology of "natural womanhood"
which identified the female body with biological nature was historically and
culturally specific...” (Chadwick, 286). Women did not fit the
stereotypes of being a great artist and always needed approval from men but the 20th century changed this idea and
helped them shift away from this sexism. They were finally able to gain more
regonition as great women artists during the 20th century as they were now
granted the rights they were never able to from before.
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Suzanne Valadon, Grandmother and Young Girl Stepping into the Bath, 1908
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Frida Kahlo, Self Portrait with Monkey, 1940
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Another great
women artist who influenced one of the movements in Modernism known as
Surrealism goes by the name of Frida Kahlo. “Alienated from Surrealist theorizing
about women, and from the search for a female muse, women turned instead to
their own reality. Surrealism constructed women as magic objects and sites on
which to project male erotic desire” (Chadwick, 313). Frida created her
paintings by using her real life pain and tragedies as a basis for her art
work. She was involved in a tragic bus accident that left her in pain for
nearly the rest of her life but through this was she able to express her pain
in her art work. Frida created many of her paintings through self portraits,
giving the viewer an idea of who she really is. More of Frida's artwork and life biography can be found in the link below.
One feminist
artist from the 20th century that I really liked goes by the name of
Barbara Kruger. She is known for her photographs that involved large aggressive
texts which she was able to express ideas of social, cultural and political
critique. Using these large texts in her art allowed her to express exactly
what she wanted the viewer to see and gain knowledge of and to also catch their
attention. (More of this can be viewed by clicking the link below.) One of the prints that Kruger designed is shown in this image known
as Your Body is a Battleground. It was designed for the March of Women’s Lives
protest in 1989 held in Washington DC. It gave a message of the feminist
struggle of the period. Modernism allowed Kruger to create art in the way she
wanted to but at the same touching on the struggles that women went through and
the societal and cultural changes of the time period.
Links
Works Cited:
Chadwick,
Whitney. 2012. Women, Art, and Society. 4th ed. New York, NY: Thames and
Hudson.
Guerrilla Girls.
1998. The Guerrilla Girls' Bedside Companion to the History of Western Art.
New York, NY: Penguin Books
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